Fletcher names his double target

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 25: Ashley Fletcher of West Ham United in action during the UEFA Europa League match between West Ham United and FC Astra Giurgiu at The Olympic Stadium on August 25, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

Ashley in action during the UEFA Europa League match between West Ham United and FC Astra Giurgiu at The Olympic Stadium on August 25, 2016  (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

Ashley Fletcher is a man on a mission as and has a double target in mind – playing as many Premier League games as possible and scoring his first goals at the highest level.

Despite being linked with loan and permanent moves away from the Hammers, Fletch remains very much a part of things.

And in a break from mid season training he told the official site: “Last year was more of a settling-in period for me. Obviously moving down to London from Manchester, new surroundings and playing Premier League football was a massive jump for me.

“This year I’ve set myself goals – I want to get as many games as possible and I want that first Premier League goal, which is always in my mind.

“I scored at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup last season and missed a good chance in our league game up there – hopefully we can go up there and do the business on August 13, and to score would be very special.

“I managed to get a couple of goals in pre-season last year,” he says, “and that kind of set the platform for me getting some game time at the beginning of the season.

“Hopefully, I can do the same again – get a couple of goals and impress the manager and coaches, and see where that takes me.

“First and foremost it is about building fitness, though. Austria is the ideal place to come for pre-season. It’s very warm and the air is thin so we work hard. To come here for a good eleven days of training and a couple of games also will stand us in good stead for moving on to Germany and looking ahead to the new season

“There are no distractions. We can focus completely on training and getting the rest we need, which is going to benefit us in the long run.”

 

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon